1. Field of the Present Disclosure
This disclosure relates generally to hand tools of the pliers type, i.e., with jaws that may be used for gripping, cutting and stripping a wire.
2. Description of Related Art
Muirhead, U.S. Pat. No. 2003/0,150,062, discloses a wire stripper with integral screwdriver that has a pair of levers pivotally connected at a fulcrum point to each other. Each lever has a handle and a jaw on opposite sides of the fulcrum point. The jaws have a plurality of notches of different curvatures, which come together in a closed state for stripping insulation from electrical wires of different gauges, and also have a scissors area for cutting electrical wires. One of the jaws is extended and includes an integral screwdriver tip. In a preferred embodiment, when the tool is in a closed position, the handles are closed together to form a single integral screwdriver handle. The tool can be used for stripping wire and screwing down electrical connections. Collins, U.S. Pat. No. 744,167, discloses a tool comprising pivotally-connected levers, jaws that have cooperating straight clamping-surfaces, one jaw having a segmental notch and the other jaw further having ratchet-like teeth, the points of which teeth extend approximately in the same plane as the clamping-surface of the jaw and the faces of which teeth extend parallel to each other and longitudinally of the first lever. Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 815,755, discloses a wire-splicer comprising a shank having a return-bend or hook for holding or seating the dormant wire therein, a lateral shoulder or projection for engaging the wire to be coiled or wound around the dormant wire, and means for opposing the strain exerted upon the dormant wire by the coiling operation and holding the dormant wire firmly seated in the hook. Berg, U.S. Pat. No. 1,364,829, discloses a tool comprising handless and gripping jaws at the end of the handles, one of the jaws formed with a curved outer face and a recess at the inner terminal of the curved face, to form a cutting edge substantially coequal with the width of the jaw, the curved face of the jaw and the recess extending substantially in the direction of but obliquely to the longitudinal axis of the tool to form a plane or draw-knife cutting edge with a curved bearing surface back thereof. Bowen, U.S. Pat. No. 2,153,510, discloses a BX cable cutter comprising two levers pivoted together intermediate of their ends to provide long and short portions, the longer portions being used as handles and the shorter portions being sharpened to be used as handles and the shorter portions being sharpened to be used as shear jaws, one jaw being longer than the other and having a blunt end portion extending beyond the end of the shorter jaw, and the longer jaw being provided with a notch in its cutting face to locate the end of the shorter jaw. Schoenwald, U.S. Pat. No. 2,729,996, discloses a hand tool comprising a primary handle of appreciable cross-section having its outward end centrally and longitudinally bifurcated, the furcations and the intervening space providing a fork-like sheath, a first implement embodying a first jaw and a shank, the latter in alignment with and fixedly joined to the outer end of one furcation, an auxiliary handle superimposed against and pivoted to the shank and foldable in part into the sheath, the auxiliary handle having an offset second jaw opposed to, coplanar with and movable toward and from the first jaw, the primary handle having a first recess in one side aligned with and constituting a pocket-like tension of the sheath, the second jaw being wholly foldable into an out-of-the-way position in the extension, and the primary handle having a second recess in a side opposite to the first named side and providing a second extension of the sheath and the auxiliary handle being foldable in part into the second extension. Epstein, U.S. Pat. No. 3,733,627, discloses a Combination tool of particular utility to electricians or other craftsmen, handymen, mechanics or the like, for performing any of a plurality of operations involved in terminating electrical wires including cutting of wires, stripping of insulation therefrom, crimping solderless terminals, forming screw connection loops and turning screws. Evling et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,337, discloses a multi-purpose tool comprising a fish hook screwdriver to quickly and accurately trace electrical wires. The user-friendly fish hook screwdriver has a screwdriver blade to move, separate or spread a bundle or harness of wires and has a hook which can conveniently slide along the wire being traced. Advantageously, the hook can also hook, pull and lift the wires being traced, as desired. The hook can be an internal hook which extends into the blade or shank. The hook can also be an external hook which extends outwardly from the blade or shank. The hook can have different configurations and sizes to accommodate different size wires. Chao-Chin Yen, G. B. 2392318, discloses a wire stripping tool that is mounted within two attached handles. A catch releasably secures the two handles together against the action of a spring. Another tool, preferably a screwdriver, peeling hook or peeling knife, is attached to one handle. Preferably a cutting blade is received within one handle or stripping blades are received within both handles. The preferred stripping blades include rows of semi-cylindrical cutting edges.
Our prior art search with abstracts described above teaches pliers type tools with cutting and gripping surfaces, spaced openings between jaws for clearance of gripped objects, sharpened front edges, hooked features, hammer features, screwdriver attachments, gauged spacing for stripping insulation, and snap-in replacement elements. However, the prior art fails to teach the combination of features taught in the present apparatus which combination is of particular importance for the specialty work of telephone line hookup and repair service personnel. The present disclosure distinguishes over the prior art providing heretofore unknown advantages as described in the following summary.